Hold on to your seats, Joe fans!
With the 2012 Toy Fair wrapping up today for Hasbro, many big name media outlets and Hollywood folks were walking through the Hasbro showroom. You had to know that some interviews would take place, and Mike Ryan from Huffington Post got a big one!
He took a few minutes to talk with G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon Chu, who dropped some serious plot nuggets that are sure to open some eyes. I won’t regurgitate the entire interview here, but I do want to touch on a few things:
“Joseph Gordon-Levitt is not in this movie. Under the mask, is this the same character that Levitt played?
No. [Smiling] But we figured out a way that’s pretty nice. And you get the Cobra Commander that you’ve always wanted. Or, to me, what I always wanted: a bad-ass villain. He’s one of the most iconic villains ever. I’m even following him on Twitter — he’s so funny.”
Woah. You read it there, folks. The Cobra Commander we see in G.I. Joe: Retaliation is not the same guy from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. So the scene where we think Storm Shadow is “rescuing” him… maybe that’s not what’s happening there. Very interesting.
The next bit of knowledge brought a big smile to my face as well:
“And we may see Destro?
[Smiling] You may see a little glimpse of Destro. We’ll have to see. Speaking of the comic book, I love “Silent Interlude.” It’s one of my favorite. Obviously that changed everything for Joe. We do a little homage in our movie to “Silent Interlude.” I’m very excited for the fans to see what we do with that.”
So, a little glimpse of Destro and an homage to Silent Interlude. Hmmm…
Any way, the interview is a fantastic read. Everyone needs to check it out. Lots of great illumination about the mindset behind the G.I. Joe: Retaliation film, a much larger focus on gritty action and bullets over lasers, and a story that Mr. Chu says is much more “comic” themed than the Rise of Cobra. Check it out right here.
Ooooh, now that’s quite interesting. Wonder who he is under that mask (and how much they cover that). June can’t get here soon enough!
hmmm… Maybe Snakes rescues Scarlett at the end of the movie?
That would be totally, totally awesome.
Seeing how John Chu is really digging into the comic book lore, I think I figured out where he COULD be going with the Cobra Commander switch…could be one of two things…
1) Rex could be an impostor/wannabe Cobra Commander, very much the same way Fred VII was in the Comic Book series…I think it plays off pretty well seeing how the Rex CC mask and uniform semi-resembles the armor that Fred VII used (even though I know it’s pure coincidence that the first movie could set it up that way). And then the scene with Storm Shadow…he could very well be bailing out the REAL Cobra Commander.
-OR-
2) This incarnation of Cobra Commander will be the equivalent of Serpentor but as Cobra Commander instead. Mindbender could’ve had this project stashed away before or after he met Rex (or hell…Rex could’ve helped him out on this in case of his untimely demise…using the Nanomites as the building blocks for it) Afterwards, Storm Shadow could have been ordered to break Cobra Commander 2.0 out of a cloning pod , which could explain the multiple pods we see in that scene (dead warriors anybody?) “when the time is right” (the pods could’ve been seized by the US when they took down Mindbender).
As you can see… it might not be that big of a stretch… Let me know what you think?
i remember someone saying that The Doctor in the first movie could be made into some guy trying to usurped the REAL Cobra Commander we see in this film? That would be alright with me 100%
It’ll probably end up being the *real* U.S. President as Cobra Commander, which sets up this “interesting” plot-line wherein he masterminds his own kidnapping (and possible murder) and impersonation, knowing full-well the impersonation will eventually be exposed, so he can completely become Cobra Commander and run things from behind a mask…while working on his ninja skills, of course. So you’ll have a guy in a mask impersonating the president, who has now donned a mask of his own to direct the nefarious activities of Cobra, which consists largely of guys in masks (including the guy in the president mask). It’s all about masks boyos…well, masks and ninjas…but the ninjas are in masks too…so, yeah, all about masks, both literally and metaphorically.
That seriously sounds lame enough for the lame-wads behind this lame cheese-fest to come up with, whilst profusely congratulating themselves over how clever they are, of course.
Why are you so down on this film? It looks awesome. And at the very least we should all be grateful for the very sincere effort Mr. Chu is putting into this film, not to mention the actors themselves.
Man I HATED Rise of Cobra and really had no hopes for this film but everything we’ve seen looks like it will actually be very cool. Will it break new ground in story telling? No. But who expects that anyway? Even iconic films like Star Wars run on the cheesiest and most basic of plots yet its how they are told that enthralls audiences.
I really dont understand how anyone can be so negative about this film after seeing the enthusiasm of all involved and the fact that they clearly reference the best of GIJoe for the same reason we refer to it, cause it was awesome.
The trailer. It looks like it has all the special effects, acting chops, story and direction of a made-for-SciFi (SyFy?) Channel film. Seriously, man, it has all the hallmarks of a rushed effort done on the cheap. Plus, it stinks of hackneyed geek-culture cliches. It all seems pretty amateurish, like a fan film, but with an actual budget.
That’s all just my opinion, however, and I really shouldn’t be foisting that opinion on others and killing your buzz. My bad, for certain, and I usually don’t do that, but I couldn’t resist in this instance.
I don’t have the highest of expectations for the movie, if only because I’ve seen nothing that would convince me Chu is capable of telling a coherent story or developing characters in an even slightly meaningful way. I don’t necessarily doubt him, but I don’t have blind faith in him because he liked the cartoon as a kid, either. I look forward to giving it a chance; it’s just difficult to accept him as the savior of the franchise without seeing any previous work. But “special effects”? Have you ever actually seen anything on SyFy? I ask because your comment doesn’t reflect reality at all. The footage we’ve seen hardly looks “amateurish” or “done on the cheap.” The trailer *looks* fantastic. It’s simultaneously gritty and sharp, polished without the overproduced, sterile feel of The Rise of Cobra.
If you’re not feeling it, you’re not feeling it. Your attempt at criticism is seriously reaching, though.
Yes, it looks amateurish (because it’s lacking composition and direction in numerous set pieces and obviously relies heavily upon hackneyed tropes and conventions) and cheaply produced. I could say this might be a result of piss-poor editing for the trailer, but if so, that doesn’t inspire much confidence since getting the trailer right is often viewed as more important than getting the film right. And it would also be reaching, considering that the hallmarks of poor direction are evident in abundance. Also, the writing is pretty generically awful (quoting Fitty-cent!). You see it one way, I see it another. I’m not going to disparage your sense of aesthetics or taste. However, bear in mind that my observations, and the opinions formed from them, are colored by my experience working in the film industry where this trailer (and film, by extension) has become something of a punchline for quite a few of us.
Boy, I’m glad I don’t work or have studied anything dealing with film. Probably never be able to enjoy a movie again. Frankly I think people tend to over analyze everything, including movies. I wonder which is sadder, average folks that enjoy “bad” movies despite flaws, or film people who can’t look past flaws an enjoy a movie for what it is. Entertainment.
What some habitual complainer disaparages is of no consequence to me. This isn’t a matter of opinion; there’s nothing “cheaply produced” about the visuals we’ve been shown. Full stop. I’m not interested in your occupation, either, as I’ve been working in the industry for nearly eight years. And if your employment status won’t impress me to the point of believing there’s any validity to your thoughtless criticism, tossing a few clichés into your commentary certainly won’t get the job done. The worst thing any of my colleagues said about the trailer was, “It doesn’t look that much different from the first one.” How ’bout that? Two can play the anecdotal logical fallacy game. No one who’s actually interested in story, direction, acting, or writing can make any kind of real judgment after seeing two minutes of footage. Anyone who says he can doesn’t know the first thing about film or storytelling in general.
And I think you meant to say Jay-Z, who’s pretty respected as a lyricist among his peers. But nice try, though.
*disparages
My experience working in the English Teaching industry leads me to spot evident hyperbole when I see it. Done on the cheap? Sure. Overdone? Well, yeah, I guess. I just have to go back and ask one more time if you’ve actually looked at the source material.
I give the scribe of ‘Zombieland’ a little more credit than this. As for guys in masks, have you looked at GI Joe in the past 30 years? Guys in masks is kind of its thing.
Very interesting! I’m intrigued. Good find, Justin.
The Cobra Commander twitter feed is freaking hilarious!!!!